Abstract
Only in recent years have immigrant workers, assigned expatriates, and self-initiated expatriates been distinguished from each other. This study contributes by offering empirically based comparative results based on interviews with 50 Portuguese citizens who moved to the United Kingdom, as self-initiated expatriates, assigned expatriates, and immigrant workers. The findings indicate that Portuguese self-initiated expatriates and assigned expatriates explored their opportunities before leaving Portugal, while immigrant workers explored them after arriving in the United Kingdom. Self-initiated expatriates and immigrant workers were driven by poor labor market situation in Portugal (e.g., unemployment, unchallenging tasks), but pull factors (e.g., professional international experience) were also identified as dominant motivators for both types of expatriates. Participants generally felt that their adaptation was easy in terms of the general (e.g., climate, food) and working (e.g., knowing one’s role and job ...
Highlights
ObjectivesTo the best of our knowledge, the three of them have never been included in the sample of an empirical study
The findings indicate that Portuguese self-initiated expatriates and assigned expatriates explored their opportunities before leaving Portugal, while immigrant workers explored them after arriving in the United Kingdom (UK)
Poor host-country language skills were perceived as an impediment mainly for general and interaction adaptation, since English seems to be sufficient for successful work adaptation in international working environments (Froese, 2012)
Summary
To the best of our knowledge, the three of them have never been included in the sample of an empirical study. In this study we aim to fill in this gap. The first aim of this study is to explore the form of international mobility of Portuguese migrant workers in the UK. In order to contribute to this gap, we aimed to conduct this study, where Portuguese migrant workers’ forms of international mobility were explored. If they proved to move abroad as SIEs, AEs and IWs, we aimed to compare them in terms of their demographics, motivations for moving abroad and cross-cultural adaptation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
